182 



XII. 



JUNE 1st. 



Musquitoes. — Gallflies. — Moths. — Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. — Black 

 Swallowtail. — Clouded Sulphur. — Black Skipper. — Other Insects. — 

 Elder. — Moosewood. — Wild Strawberry. — Beech — its bark — foliage 

 roots — wood. — Leafing of Forest Trees. — Providence of God. — Tor- 

 toise — its manners — eggs. — Mushroom. 



Charles. — I begin to feel the truth of your former ob- 

 servations respecting the virulence of the musquitoes : last 

 night they were very numerous, and I was shockingly bitten 

 by them. 



Father. — Yes, they have begun to be troublesome, and 

 we may now look for their nightly attacks, for three months 

 at least, but not without frequent intermissions, or at least 

 mitigations of their violence. We must bear it as we may. 



C. — I yesterday picked up, lying on the ground, an irre- 

 gular-oval, spongy gall, resembling a brown tuberous root, 

 studded here and there with prickles : it contained very many 

 regular cells, and pupae of Gallflies (Cynips), I observed 

 one little hole, which I enlarged, and took from it a little 

 gallfly perfected, the first I had ever seen. 



F. — The gallflies are generally small insects, but very 

 curious in their economy : their power of so altering the 

 course of nature, as to produce on plants apparent fruits and 

 flowers, totally difi^erent from their ordinary productions, 

 merely by means of an invisible puncture, is one that com- 

 pletely baffles all our researches, and shows us that, with all 



